Can opener



Gm. 223 R923.

A. R. NEFF CAN OPENER Filed Nov. 5, 1920 Patented @ct. Z3, TQZB. nnirrinwarnr n li e/lino I ABNER'R. NEFIF, L LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA.

SAN OPENER.

Application filed November 3, 1820. Serial No. 421,572.

I To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, ABNnR R. New, a citizen of the United States,residing Lon Beach, county of Los Angeies, State of alifornia, haveinvented new and use ful Improvements in Can Openers, or which" thefollowing is a specification.

Tlus invention relates to a can opener and an object of the invention isto provide an improved device of this character.

In general the can opener provided by the present invention is or thecharacter set forth in my copending application entitled Can opener,filed October 13, 1919, Serial Number 380,456, and although the presentinvention is in no way. limited or restricted to any one particularclass or kind of can opener, it is particularly adapted for use inconnection with can openers of the character set forth in said copendingapplication.

It may be stated that a particular and noteworthy feature of the presentinvention is the cutter or blade. The generalshape of the blade is suchas to cause it to follow and to cut at the edge of the can, while thecutting edge is such as to effectively and smoothly cut the metal of thecan. The cutting or sharp edge is formed on the blade by a slight bevelat the side of the blade which engages the side otthe can and acomparatively large bevel at the other side of the blade. The edge thusformed is a knife edge sufiiciently sharp to efi'ectively out sheetmetal such as cans are ordinarily made of. Small notches or indentationsare formed in the knife edge along its entire cuttingportion. Thesenotches'are particularly effective in preventing slippage of the sharpcutting edge over the metal without cutting it and also materiallyassist the sharp cutting edge in actually cutting the metal.

The general construction of the device is ofparticular note-in that itis neat and sanitary, and permits of simple and inexpensive.manufacture. The device 1s'formed of two pieces, a handle and a blade,welded together to form a continuous structure.

which would need cleaning out. The sanitary feature of the weldedconstruction is in itself particularly important and lends greatcommercial value to the device.

The various objects and features of the invention will be best and morefully understood from the following detailed description of a preferredembodiment of the invention throughout which reference is had to theaccompanying drawings, in which- Fig. l is a bottom plan of the device;Fig. 2is a side elevation of the device; F 3 is a top View of thedevice; Fig. l is an enlarged edge view of the blade or cutter showingit as viewed in Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is an enlarged side elevation of theblade or cutter viewing it as it is viewed in Fig. 2; and Fig. 6 is anenlarged detailed sectional view or the blade taken as indicated by line66 on Fig. l.

Throughout the drawings numeral 10 designates the handle or" the openerto which is connected the blade 11. Various forms of handle constructioncan be advantageously used in the construction of the opener but it ispreferred that the handle be formed from a single piece of strip metalor ribbon stock. in the preferred form of the handle 10 a single stripof metal is bent orlooped so that the blade 11 is held between its endportions 18 and-19. The portions 12 and 13 of the strip or" metal formthe handle or that portion of the device adapted to be gripped by thehand of the operator. The shape or curvature of the portions 12 and 13is such as to form a con venient and comfortable handle to begripped bythe operator. From inspection of the drawings it will be seen how theportions 12 and 13 form a complete loop, or in other words how the stripor' metal is bent or shaped so that it comes together at A. Inaccordance withthe present invention the two portions of the strip ofmetal are welded or otherwise fused together at A 'making the handleportion, formed by porcomfortable brace for the thumb andforepermanently fused or welded together.

finger of theoperator when he is manipulating the device. looped portionprevents the hand of-the operator from slipping forward on the bandleand'enables him to geta firm grip or purchase on the handle. The twoendportions 18 and 19 are flat and parallel with each otherand carry thebutt portion-' of the blade 11 between them. As provided by thisinvention thetwo side'portions 18' ai1d19 of the strip of metal and thebutt portion of the blade ll are positively. and The Y fusing togetherof these parts makes the catch dirt and need frequent cleaning.

blade practically a Continuation. of the handle and thereby renders thedevice particularly strong rigid and durable. Infthe preferred form ofthe invention the end portions 18. and 19 and the butt portion 20 areelectrically spotwelded together as such method is inexpensive andparticularly. ef fective. It is also preferred that thejointat A beelectrically spotwelded for the reason just mentioned. 'It is perfectlyobvious how the fusing or welding of the o1nts of' the device producesnot only a strong rigid structure but also providesa neat sightly andsanitary device. With fused or welded joints or connections there are noprojecting parts to form-corners such as would This is. an importantpoint from, a practical standpoint and is. therefore considered ofparticular note. r The blade 11 eXtends from the endportions 18 and 19and isshaped so that its outer. portion 21 is pointed. The blade 11theiblade. cutting edge causes it to be closer to the side. B oftheblade than it is to the sideC. The cutting edge is not smooth. but ismade i:r-'

is transversely curved; is of uniform thickregular or;notched by runninga knurling 'toolover. it before it is tempered or hardened. It will bereadily understoodhow the passing of a linurling tool over the'edge 22will form a'plurality of dents ornotches 22 in it as clearly shownthroughout. the drawings. These notches .22" are not deep or largeand'are not such as to spoil the cutting edge formed by the bevels 22and 22 The notches 22 are provided primarily to prevent slippage oflth'e blade on'the metal being cut by it although theyactually' have moreor less of a'file action" and materially V assist in cutting the metalof the can. In the In practice this small.

practical operation of the devioetheicom bined action of the sharp edgeand the notches issuch as to cause the blades to feed into andeffectively cutthe metal of a can.v

In the practical manufacture of theblade the bevels22 and 22 are formedbygrinding, the notches 22 are formed by knurling, and the blade"is'pressed and bent to have the proper transverse curvature. The bladeis then tempered or hardened. It will be understood of course that theinvention is in no way limited or restrictedto anyparticular methodor'process of manufacture and that therefore the bevels 22" and 22l? maybe formed by'other methods than by grinding andthat the notches 22 maybe formed in manners other than knurling. I

herein, referring to the notches being formed by knurling merely becausethat is the way they are actually and practically formed and becausethey are. preferably off. the character produced by a knurling oper-'ation.

The end'25 of th strip of metal which forms the handle 10', extends orprojects from the end portion 19 and is provided with a rounded end 26spaced somewhat from theside B of the blade 11. y The side B of theblade 11 is the inner side ofjthe I I blade, thereby causing the end 26to engage the endfof the can being removed or. cut out'by the device.From inspection-of the drawings itwill be seen that the formation orshape of the end 25 is suchas to form a space 27 between it and theblade/ll into which the edge'of the end of the'can may extend or curlwhen it is out. In practice it is preferred that the space 27 6f suchsize 1 r.

as to allow the end of thecan to 'curl slightly'due to thecutting butisnot largeenough to allow it to, curl so as to endanger the hand of theoperator. I

7 When the device is in operation the side or surface B of' the blade 11is kept tightly or close against the .inner surface 'of'the side wall ofthe canby' projection 40. which extends from the end portion '18 int themanner clearly shown in .the. drawings.

The projection 40 extends fromithejend' wall of the can extends betweenthe ,pro-

'jection 40 and the blade :11 andiisen ga ged by both the blade and thepriojectionf- .Thev 1 shape or curvature of the projectioneofis such asto form a tapered .or 'V shaped groove '42 between it and the' blade 11, as

" clearly shown in the drawings.l-;With this V construction downwardpressure Toni: the I handle 10 (which causes cuttingof theend of thecan) causes the edge of the side wall of the canto wedge between theprojection 40 and the. blade 11- and. thereby prevent slipping of theopener on the edge of he .can when the bladellis cutting and also formsthe fulcrum or pivot of the portion 18 so that theupper edge'oftheside7' opener. The side C of the blade being held close against the innerside of the wall of the can causes the end of the can to be cut where itjoins the wall of the can without leaving a flange or inwardly extendingedge. It will be understood how the cutting operation may be started inthe common or ordinary manner, that is, the point 21 of the blade may beforced or pumped through the top of the can at or near the edge of theside wall thereof. Downward movement of the handle 10, when the deviceis in a more or less vertical position will cause upward movement of theblade 11 and will thereby cause the edge 22 to out the end or top of thecan. When the end or top of the can has been removed by the presentdevice the contents of the can may be easily emptied from it withoutdanger of the op erator being cut or injured by the cut edge of the can.

In the preferred form of construction the blade 11 is not fiat but istransversely curved so that the side B is convex and the side D concave,as clearly shown throughout the drawings. It will be noted particularlyin Figs. 1, 3 and at of the drawings, that the concavity of the blade isproduced by bending or curving it adjacent to the butt portion in thedirection indicated by the arrow E and bending or curving it at theouter portion in the direction indicated by arrow F. It has been foundin practice that blade when bent or formed in this manner will followvery closely the wall or side of the can and will cut the top very closeto the side of the can. It will be understood however that the amountthat the blade is bent as indicated by the arrows will deis to be usedor upon the general size of can upon which it is to operate. It has beenfound in practice that the curvature shown in the drawing issatisfactory for cutting the average or ordinary sized can used inpacking foodstufi' or the like.

Having set forth only a preferred embodiment of my invention 1 do notwish to necessarily limit or restrict myself to the specific detailshereinabove set forth but wish to reserve to myself any variations thatmay appear to those skilled in the art or that may fall in the scope ofthe following claims.

Having described a preferred form of my invention, I claim:

1. In a can opener, a blade having a sharp edge and formed with aplurality of rela tively fine notches in and substantially confined toits sharp edge.

2. In a can opener, a blade having a knurled sharp edge.

3. In a can opener, a blade having a relatively finely knurled sharpcutting edge.

4. In a can opener, a blade having a relatively finely knurled cuttingedge formed relatively close to one side of the blade by different sizedbevels at the two sides of the blade.

5. In a can opener, a transversely curved blade having a sharp edge andformed with a plurality of relatively fine notches in and substantiallyconfined to its sharp edge.

In Witness that I claim the foregoing l have hereunto subscribed my namethis 30th day of September, 1920.

ABNER R. NEFF.

Witness VIRGINIA BERINGER.

